


No Doubt About It

by snarky_saxophonist



Category: Baseball RPF
Genre: Chicago Cubs, M/M, minor injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-12
Updated: 2017-04-12
Packaged: 2018-10-18 04:13:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10609053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snarky_saxophonist/pseuds/snarky_saxophonist
Summary: A coda to the 4.07.17 game against the Brewers.





	

Grimacing slightly as he resisted the urge to rub at his aching eye, Javy stumbled as he climbed onto the bus after his teammates. The trainers had wanted to check him over one last time before sending him off for the night, so the entire team was already waiting on the bus for him to head back to the hotel. Addi wasn’t in their usual seat towards the front of the bus, which was odd, but Javy shrugged it off and moved to sit next to Heyward, who was sitting alone. 

Heyward glanced up from where he was staring out the window, his features twisting into a scowl when he saw Javy standing there. He shook his head once, a curt dismissal and order to move on to a different seat. Stung, Javy looked away and continued down the bus to find another seat. 

“Hey, Javy,” Rizz smiled at him, gesturing at the empty seat next to him. “How’re you feeling?”

Javy dropped gratefully down into the seat, rubbing his temples. “I’m good,” he told Rizzo, resisting the urge to close his eyes and fall asleep immediately.

“So, headache and exhausted?” Rizzo asked, eyeing him intently.

“A little, yes,” Javy admitted. “I’m fine to play tomorrow, just need to sleep tonight.”

“I’m sure you are,” Anthony assured him. “But take it easy, okay? Better to miss one game and get back to 100% than to play at 90% for a couple or have to miss more later because it turns into something more serious.”

“I know,” Javy agreed. “I’m not going to be stupid about it.”

“Good,” Rizz gave him another gentle smile. Javy glanced around the bus at the rest of the team. Most of them were subdued from the loss, but he got a few smiles and thumbs ups from the guys who noticed him looking around. 

“Where’s Addi?” he asked Rizzo, not seeing him anywhere nearby.

“He needed Kris now,” Anthony told him, nodding towards the middle of the bus. Javy nodded in understanding; he himself had gone to Kris after a few rough games for his easy affection and unflappable calm. Twisting around, he saw Addi and Kris about halfway back, Addi curled into Kris’s side. It was a cute picture, but Addi wasn’t usually in need of comfort like that after a game like this.

“Is he okay?” Javy asked, concerned.

“He’ll be fine,” Anthony reassured him quickly, wrapping an arm around Javy’s shoulders and pulling him against his shoulder. “Kris’ll help him, and he’ll be all good. Nothing big to worry about.”

“What about J-Hey?” Javy lowered his voice, not wanting the outfielder to hear him from only a few rows up. “Is he upset at me?”

“No, not at all,” Rizzo promised. “He’s upset at himself about you getting hurt. When he sees you’re really fine and playing again, he’ll be fine.”

“It wasn’t his fault,” Javy protested, making to get up to talk to Heyward, but Anthony tugged him back down.

“Not now,” Anthony squeezed his arm to soften the rebuke. “Talk to him tomorrow, but let him be for tonight. He’ll be fine, really.”

Javy shook his head, laughing bitterly. “We’re all a mess tonight, yeah?”

“It isn’t our best evening,” Rizz admitted with a rueful smile. “We’ll get it together and be back on top of our game by tomorrow, though.”

“Obviously,” Javy nodded absently, wincing at the movement.

Rizzo, of course, noticed immediately, his eyebrows drawing down into a concerned frown. “You sure you’re alright?”

“Tired and headache, like you said,” Javy brushed off his concern.

“Then why are you still up and talking to me?” Anthony asked affectionately. “I’ve been reliably informed that I am a great pillow. Take a nap until we get back to the hotel, man.”

Yawning deeply, Javy obediently leaned his head against Anthony’s shoulder, dozing off nearly immediately, surrounded by the first baseman’s warmth.

 

“Hey, Javy,” a voice gently said in his ear. “Gotta get up so you can get into an actual bed, okay?”

“What?” Javy asked sleepily, lifting his head and blinking at Rizzo’s face right next to his. “Oh, yes, sorry.”

“No worries,” Anthony chuckled. “As comfortable as I am, you might want to move to your hotel room.”

“Yeah,” Javy yawned, standing up and reaching for his bag.

Swatting his hand away, Anthony too the bag for him. “I got it, sleepyhead. Just focus on making it up to your room without falling asleep on me.” Javy nodded in agreement, stifling another yawn. Normally he would protest Rizzo trying to take care of him when he wasn’t injured, but he had to admit that he was more exhausted than usual. 

Trailing after a quiet group of bullpen pitchers, Javy jumped slightly as Anthony tapped him on the shoulder.

“Hang on a second, Kris wants to talk to me,” Anthony told him, gesturing to where the third baseman was standing with Addi. “You okay with waiting a moment?”

“Yeah,” Javy replied easily, waving him on and stepping out of the way of their other teammates. He watched absently as Kris moved away from Addi so he and Rizzo could talk privately, Rizzo nodding in agreement with whatever he was saying. Their conversation was brief, but Anthony sent a few concerned glances over towards Addi throughout. Javy’s brow furrowed in concern over his teammate, an action he immediately regretted when it aggravated his injured eye.

“You all right?” Schwarbs asked as he headed towards the hotel, pausing to give Javy an appraising look.

“Fine,” Javy said tersely, managing a smile to reassure him. Kyle frowned, but slapped him lightly on the shoulder and moved on.

“Kris wanted to tell me that Addi needs a few more minutes, but they’ll be up shortly and bring more ice for your eye. If you’re feeling up for it, Addi wants to talk to you before you go to sleep, but if not it’s fine too,” Anthony reported, starting to head back into the hotel.

“Is he okay?” Javy asked as he fell into step beside Rizzo.

“He just wants to talk to Kris privately, not on the bus with everybody else around,” Anthony reassured him. “He’s a little upset about the game tonight, and you know how Kris is with stuff like this.”

“Yeah,” Javy muttered, wondering why Addi couldn’t just talk to him directly without working things out with Kris first.

“Personally, I think Addi’s trying to steal Kris away from me,” Anthony joked, hitting the button for the third floor. “I just have to hope his love for me is strong enough.”

“Addi would never drop me for Kris,” Javy shot back automatically. “He wouldn’t want to mess with the infield chemistry.”

Anthony laughed, gesturing for Javy to lead the way out of the elevator. “That’s right, Bryzzo got the final out of the World Series, nobody would dare to mess with that.”

“Enjoy your gloating,” Javy grumbled, stealing his bag from Anthony so he could dig for his room key. “I’ll get the last out this year.”

“Whatever you say,” Anthony said indulgently, waiting for Javy to unlock the door. “Which bed is yours?”

“By the window,” Javy told him absently, dropping his bag by the door. “Do you need anything?”

“Nope,” Anthony said cheerfully, flopping face first onto Javy’s bed. “All good here.”

Javy rolled his eyes, electing to ignore the first baseman’s antics as he headed into the bathroom to get ready for bed. Peering at his eye in the mirror as he brushed his teeth, he had to admit that it maybe did look bad enough to warrant his teammates' concern. The swelling had gone down some, but there was impressive bruising around his still bloodshot eye. He'd gotten lucky, though, as he was well aware that the crash could easily have ended with much worse consequences. 

"Hey, Superman!" Anthony called to him when the sound of knocking came from the door. "You should answer that!"

"You could do it!" Javy yelled back, rolling his eyes but opening the door to let Kris in.

“Hey,” Kris greeted, voice quiet but still cheerful. If he was frustrated about the outcome of the game or his own burgeoning slump, there was no sign of it, just quiet concern for his teammate. “How’re you doing?”

“I’m good,” Javy smiled at him, pulling off his shirt and throwing it at Anthony, still lying on his bed. “Get up, lazy. Where’s Addi?”

“He’s on his way up,” Kris told him. “I got some ice for you, and I bet I can get that barnacle off of your bed if you want.”

“Please,” Javy took the ice packs from Kris, ducking back into the bathroom to get a towel to wrap them in. When he walked out again, Kris had flopped on top of Anthony and was tickling him mercilessly while Anthony tried to roll off of the bed. Laughing at their antics, Javy left the ice on Addi’s bed while he changed into a pair of sweatpants before pulling out his phone to take a video as Anthony finally succeeded in getting away from Kris by falling onto the floor. 

“Come on, Rizz, let’s get out of Javy’s hair,” Kris laughed, offering Anthony a hand up. “I want absolutely nothing to do with that hair ever.”

“You can’t talk, with your rattail,” Anthony shot back, tugging Kris along with him. “See you tomorrow, Javy. Hope you still feel alright then.”

“Thanks,” Javy replied, taking the opportunity to flop down on his own bed as Rizzo had earlier. Pressing the ice to his eye, he sighed at the relief the cold provided for his aching face. He wanted to fall asleep immediately, but he was still concerned about Addi.

As if on cue, he heard the door opening and Addi’s quiet footsteps as he eased the door shut behind him. 

“I’m awake, you don’t have to be quiet,” Javy mumbled, rolling over to face the door. “You okay?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” Addi tried for a joke, but it fell flat due to the concern etched on his face. 

“Hey, I’m okay,” Javy tossed the ice on the bed, getting up to walk over to Addi. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing, you’re fine, I’m fine,” Addi said quickly, giving Javy’s shoulder a quick squeeze as he moved to brush past him and get into the bathroom.

“It’s not nothing, and you’re not fine,” Javy grabbed his hand. “Why won’t you talk to me?”

Addi sighed, tangling his fingers in with Javy’s. “You’re right. I will talk to you, can I just get ready for bed first?”

“You trying to make me fall asleep before we can talk?” Javy raised an eyebrow, then winced at the pull on his eye.

“You okay?” Addi asked immediately, reaching to cup Javy’s cheek.

“No big deal,” Javy smiled to reassure him, lifting their joined hands to kiss Addi’s knuckles. “Go get ready for bed.”

“Okay,” Addi said, reluctantly moving into the bathroom. Javy retreated back to his bed, retrieving the ice from where he’d dropped it. His face still hurt, but he was even more concerned about Addi now. His boyfriend was normally the better one of them about talking things out, especially after getting Kris to help him screw his head on straight. The game tonight hadn’t even been that bad, despite the loss and Javy’s injury. They’d been battling the whole game, Anderson had had a great debut, and the collision hadn’t even been that bad. Especially considering that it was the anniversary of Schwarbs’ injury, this was nothing. 

“Can I join you?” Addi asked hesitantly when he emerged. Javy frowned, because they were well past the point in their relationship where they asked before sharing a bed, but scooted over and patted the bed next to him in invitation. Addi plugged his phone in next to the bed before climbing in, leaning back against the headboard with a sigh.

“What’s wrong?” Javy asked again, voice gentle as he put a hand on Addi’s leg. “Is it just the game? It’s not a big deal, we’ll win tomorrow.”

“I don’t care about the damn game!” Addi snapped, his quiet hesitance finally replaced by his true feelings. “We could lose every game for the rest of the season, and I wouldn’t care, because it’s just a game! You could have gotten seriously hurt tonight, and you think I care about the game?”

“I’m fine,” Javy stressed, taking the ice off his face so he could look Addi in the eyes. “See? A bruise and a bloodshot eye. That’s all it is. I’m already cleared to play again.”

“It didn’t look like just that at first,” Addi still looked upset, his eyes focused on the visible marks of the night’s occurrences. “Jason rolled over your head. He’s half a foot taller and fifty pounds heavier than you, and he rolled over your head while you two were trying to catch a baseball. You two collided and he rolled over your head and you didn’t get up and I thought-“ Addi stopped, swallowing hard and brushing light fingers over Javy’s injured eye, so gentle that Javy barely felt it. 

“I’m fine,” Javy said again. “I stayed down to assess and make sure I wasn’t hurt badly. I’m okay, everything’s okay.”

“I know,” Addi said quietly. “But I worry about you.”

“I’m sorry,” Javy kissed Addi on the cheek gently. “I’ll try to be more careful in the future. I know I got lucky tonight.”

“No you won’t,” Addi said, sounding exasperatedly fond. “You’re still going to go after every ball that goes even remotely close to you. You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t.”

“That’s probably true,” Javy admitted. “But we wouldn’t look so beautiful sharing an infield if I didn’t play like that.”

“We won’t look so beautiful sharing an infield if you’re on the DL for half the season,” Addi shot back, smiling to lighten his words.

“I’ll be careful, really,” Javy promised. “I’m not going to stop being an aggressive player, but I’ll be more careful about letting up when someone else is calling for it.”

“Thank you,” Addi smiled gratefully. “I know it’s stupid, and any of us could get hurt doing anything on the field or in the box, but I just want you to be okay.”

“I am,” Javy said simply. “Who knows what will happen tomorrow, or the day after, or the rest of the season, but tonight, I’m good.”

“Yeah,” Addi gently kissed him above his bruised eye. “Yeah, you are.”

“You good now?” Javy asked, wrapping an arm around Addi’s shoulders.

“Yeah,” Addi said again. “It was just-it was an emotional game for me, but talking things out with Kris and with you-that helped. I’m fine.”

“I’m glad,” Javy said. “We need you to be out there at 100% tomorrow so we can show the Brewers who owns the Central.”

Addi laughed, shoving gently at Javy’s shoulder. “Like there’s ever any doubt, idiot. There’s only one team in this division that won the World Series last year, and it sure as hell wasn’t the Brewers.”

“I dunno, the Reds have been pretty hot so far,” Javy teased him. “Maybe they’ll surpass us this year and be a new powerhouse.”

“Yeah, let me know how that goes after we play them,” Addi said dryly. “We’ll eat their pitching alive and get them to set another new record for how many homers they give up.”

“I think about fifteen from every Cub would be a good number,” Javy mused. “And then forty from KB, forty from Rizz, and thirty from each of us.”

“So basically, you want them to set a record for total homers given up on the season just by playing us,” Addi laughed. “I’m down for that. Two homers a game? Sounds doable.”

“Of course it is, we’re the Cubs,” Javy said cockily, grinning at Addi.

“Yeah, and the Cubs will actually be good if we get some sleep tonight, dork,” Addi grinned back, flopping over Javy to flick the light off. 

“You’re no fun,” Javy complained, grabbing hold of Addi’s arm before he could roll back over to his side of the bed. He clumsily kissed him, fumbling around for a moment before he got Addi’s lips. He felt Addi smiling against his lips as they kissed for a long moment before Javy finally let him go.

“Love you,” Addi whispered to him, rolling over to curl into Javy’s shoulder.

“I love you too,” Javy replied, smiling in the dark. He had his fellow World Series champion, the man he loved, curled up in bed next to him, and a baseball game to play the next day. What could be better?

**Author's Note:**

> I was going to try to write something with every winning series the Cubs had this season... Two and a half series into the season, I've already failed. Whoops. ...Season series instead?


End file.
